117 posts categorized "Well tips"

October 04, 2010

People going on a diet should make sure to get enough sleep, according to a study published online Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The research found that "cutting your time in bed from 8.5 hours to 5.5 hours causes you to lose proportionally less fat," wrote Amina Khan in the Los Angeles Times' health blog, Booster Shots.

"When people follow a weight loss diet, they respond to the reduced amount of calories by increased hunger and becoming very economical in spending energy," study author Dr. Plamen Penev wrote in an email.

"This natural response gradually makes it harder and harder to lose weight by dieting. When sleep restriction is added on top, hunger can be increased and the energy expenditure can be reduced even more - both of these things may undermine the success of dieters," said Penev, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago.

September 29, 2010

New cancer guidelines urge patients and survivors to exercise to improve their quality of life. But can exercise help reduce a healthy woman's risk of getting breast cancer in the first place?

The answer is 'yes,' but it may require a lifestyle change.

Research shows that women can reduce their risk of breast cancer by one third if they exercise for at least 30 to 60 minutes a day, especially if it's done vigorously enough to break a sweat, said Dave Nieman, director of the Human Performance Labs at Appalachian State University and the author of several textbooks on exercise and nutrition as medicine.

But exercise alone won't work. Women also need to be thin and eat a healthy diet that's low in animal fat and high in fruits and vegetables, Nieman said.

"Everyone wants to talk about medical treatments and pills, but the sweat and effort of being a lean, active women is the way we can reduce cancer," Nieman added. "We know exercise has an even stronger effect in preventing colon cancer than breast cancer."

“Being resourceful, the body will tap into your stored lean body mass first and your fat tissue second, which is counterproductive for staying healthy and performing at your best," Verstegen wrote. " Your body, in this stressed state, will release high amounts of the stress hormone cortisol, decreasing the overall benefit of your healthy adventure.”

Instead, he recommends eating a small, easily digestible mini-meal, even if it’s just half a glass of water or watered down orange juice with a scoop of whey protein. Other options: Yogurt and water or a cup of coffee with some fat-free milk, and a piece of whole wheat bread with jam.

Others say the morning pre-run meal depends on several factors, including the length of your run (the longer it is, the more likely you'll regret not eating something), the size of your meal the night before and how early your run is.

"Getting in a light snack is easy when you’re running at 9 a.m.; not so much when you’re meeting friends at 5:30 a.m.," said Mark Remy, executive editor of Runnersworld.com and the author of the Runner's Rule Book.

"Waking up and dashing out for a run sans breakfast works for some. But most runners, myself included, benefit from a LITTLE bite of something before heading out. Half a bagel, maybe, or a banana. Even a cookie. If you’re really in a rush, a swig or two of sports drink is better than nothing."

Remy's final word of warning: "Coffee before a morning run can be a dicey proposition. Let’s just say you might find yourself, 20 minutes into your run, needing to perform an 'emergency evacuation.'”

August 19, 2010

For most of the day, Mark Bittman, author of "Food Matters” and “How to Cook Everything,” eats nothing processed, no junk, no animal products. "At night, I do whatever the hell I want," he wrote in the forward to Peter Menzel & Faith D'Alusisio's fascinating new book "What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets."

Bittman's diet was "essentially Ameri-omnivorous with a heavy focus on meat (corned beef and hot dogs in the early years, more international later) and animal products in general. At some point, I saw the writing on the wall: This style of eating wasn't sustainable for me, or the land, air or water, or for that matter, the animals. “

By eating vegan (no animal products) before 6 p.m. Bittman figures he has changed his calorie intake from 10 to 20 percent unprocessed plants to somewhere over 50 percent.

"I’ve done it over three years and it's been easy and feels permanent,” he wrote.

August 11, 2010

After an X-ray showed a spot on Ron Sveden’s windpipe, Boston doctors thought the 75-year-old retired teacher was suffering from a cancerous tumor.

In fact, the culprit was a pea that had sprouted in his windpipe, Colneth Smiley Jr. reported in the Boston Herald. When they removed the plant, his health improved. I'm currently tracking down an expert to explain how this could have happened.

June 25, 2010

Grocery shopping after a good, but intense, workout may lead to poor food choices because arousal can hamper our ability to resist temptation, according to research published in the Journal of Consumer Research

In the study, marketing professors Vanessa Patrick of the University of Houston and Alexander Fedorikhin of Indiana University used three different experiments to show how arousal--feeling activated, excited or energized--interferes with or overrides the beneficial effects of positive mood.

In the first, study volunteers were asked to watch a positive but low arousal clip from the movie Tommy Boy while another group watched a positive but arousing movie clip of a university football team playing an archrival. The participants then chose between two snacks: a cup of grapes and a cup of M&Ms, the latter was considered to be more unhealthy and harder to resist than the grapes.

Those who watched the more arousing movie clip—the football game--were more likely to choose the M&Ms and had a harder time regulating how much they ate compared to those who watched the less arousing clip from Tommy Boy.

Exercise was added to the second trial. The researchers found that the participants who watched the calm movie and performed a light workout on a stepstool were more likely to choose M&Ms than those who were sedentary.

Finally, the researchers looked at the role of mental energy by asking some people to remember a 7-digit number; others were given a 2-digit number.

Those given the task of remembering the larger number were more likely to choose M&Ms.

The study authors didn't explicitly examine sexual arousal. But if you assume "that sexual arousal involves components of emotional and physiological arousal, you can extend our findings to that domain," said Patrick.

It’s also possible that a person's individual goals can affect food choices, something the study didn’t address, said Patrick. If your goal is fun and indulgence, then a "then a mild positive mood would facilitate that goal and possibly result in the choice of M&Ms," she said.

Further research is also needed to look at the role individual differences can play. For instance, chronically impulsive people might respond differently to a positive mood, Patrick said. Or, those who have a high need for cognition (thinking), "may respond differently to the role that emotions play in choice," she said.

The bottom line? To resist temptation, you need to be in a positive frame of mind and have the available mental energy needed to make good choices, the researchers said.

May 13, 2010

Consumers can save hundreds of dollars by negotiating their medical bill with their doctors, but many are unaware they have the option, according a survey by Angie's List, which provides consumer reviews on local doctors, dentists and service companies.

"Most of the time, you have to ask your medical provider for savings or payment options," said Angie's List founder Angie Hicks, predicting that as consumers become more savvy, medical providers will be more aggressive about their price options.

Billing accuracy is another area to inspect, Hicks said. Some patient advocates estimate that 80 percent of all medical bills contain errors.

"This isn’t a matter of trying to avoid paying a fair price for service. It’s making sure you’re paying the correct amount and accessing options that are available," Hicks said. "Never just pay a bill – review it first, ask questions if you have them and be prepared to be persistent."

In the survey of Angie's List members, physicians were more willing to negotiate bills than other health care providers. More than 40 percent of successful medical bill negotiations were conducted with doctors’ offices; 31 percent with hospitals and 18 percent with dentists. Other categories covered include alternative medicine and chiropractors.

In a recent blog post, Hicks gave the following tips to help consumers negotiate:

1. Ask: Cash (or immediate payment) is king in a medical facility, just as is it is with retailers and service companies. Ask if there’s a discount for upfront payment or a no-interest payment plan. Be sure to follow all applicable health insurance rules.

2.Getquotes in writing: If you’re price shopping before you have a procedure done, get a signature, name and title to go along with the price quoted.

3.Cover every doctor in the room: When getting prices, be sure you cover all fees associated with your procedure, rather than just the surgical costs. (i.e. anesthesiologist, radiologist, laboratory costs, etc…)

April 27, 2010

To eat less, leave the pasta serving bowl on the stove rather than putting it on the table. This simple strategy--keeping serving dishes out of sight--reduced the number of times a person refilled his or her plate, according to research presented at this week’s Experimental Biology conference in Anaheim, Calif.

The study of 78 people, called "Serve Here; Eat There," was led by food psychologist Brian Wansink, director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab.

"Quite simply, it is a case of 'out of sight, out of mind,'" said Wansink, the author of “Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think.” "When we kept the serving dishes off the table, people ate 20 percent fewer calories. Men ate close to 29 percent less."

The same strategy can be used to help increase the consumption of healthier foods, Wansink said.

"If fruits and vegetables are kept in plain sight, we'll be much more likely to choose them, rather than a piece of cake hidden in the refrigerator," he said.

Wansink is known for his work showing how the dining environment, plate and portion size and other hidden cues determine what, when and how we eat. He recently teamed up with his brother, Craig Wansink, a professor of religious studies at Virginia Wesleyan College, to show how artists have supersized one of the most famous meals of all time: The Last Supper. His work has also shown that calorie density and serving sizes in recipes from The Joy of Cooking have increased since 1936.

Wansink, who is best known for his work on food psychology and eating behavior, says he and his team have conducted several unpublished studies showing the association.

There are at least two possible explanations, Wansink said. The first is if you're under stress because you're late for the movie, you probably won't make a very good decision. Stress skews our judgment. Or, "it could be that the same characteristic that made you late for the movie--a lack of self discipline—also made you more likely to buy bigger, more indulgent things."

The good news is that movie theater food may actually improve. A Sony Pictures survey at 26 theaters nationwide found that two-thirds of movie-goers said they would be likely to buy healthy concessions if available, according to "Theaters to offer healthy snacks?" by Lauren Neergard of the Associated Press.

March 01, 2010

Salads carry a health halo, but most of them should come with a warning label that reads "Beware of excess levels of calories, fat and sodium," warned Dr. Joanna Dolgoff, a child and adolescent weight loss specialist.

Taco salad. "The beef, cheese and sour cream make this salad a calorie nightmare--and that's before you add the large, deep-fried taco shell. Tip: Substitute grilled chicken for beef and guacamole and salsa in place of cheese and sour cream. Don't touch the taco shell!

Creamy salads."Pasta, potato, tuna, chicken salad and shrimp--anything with mayonnaise or sour cream."Tip: If you make them at home, use just a little fat-free or low-fat mayonnaise.

Caesar salad."Horrendous!" said Dolgoff. "The dressing, the cheese and the croutons all add up to a nutritional disaster."

Tip: Pass on the cheese and croutons and use a fat-free Caesar dressing or ask for a fat-free balsamic dressing. Try to get the dressing on the side.

Cobb salad. The blue cheese, eggs and bacon make this "a fat and cholesterol disaster," said Dolgoff. Tip: Avoid this at a restaurant and make your own at home. Use 97 percent fat-free turkey bacon.